The function of the Administrative Core is to provide administrative support, organization, coordination and efficient management of this Program. Because this Program involves multiple projects, cores, laboratories and investigators, some centralized mechanism to facilitate its smooth operation is absolutely essential. The Administrative Core will be directed by Dr. Nadia N Hansel and co-directed by Dr. Gregory B. Diette. Together they will be responsible for evaluating the progress and overall administration of the entire Program and its individual projects. The major responsibility of the Administrative Core is to ensure that the combined research and support activities contained in this application marshal their collective efforts to produce a body of science that is greater than the sum of the individual components. This responsibility requires a strong commitment to the ?center concept.? As a result, the most important function of the Center is to facilitate project and core interaction, coordination, and integration within the mission and theme of the Center. The OBESE-ASTHMA research program key personnel are associated with the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics. Elizabeth Matsui, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics will support the Core in the role of Pediatric Health Specialist. She also co-leads Project 2 and leads the Data Core. In addition, the Administrative Core and mentorship team will be responsible for promoting and tracking the impact of the Program on fostering the development of junior investigators in the field of children's environmental health sciences. The Administrative Core will coordinate the inter-project and inter-departmental collaborative arrangements and develop new arrangements as deemed necessary for the scientific progress of the Program as a whole. The Administrative Core will also provide the Projects and Cores with a periodic review of all expenditures and liaise with University Accounting and Grants administrative offices regarding grant budgets. The administrative support provided by the Administrative Core will be responsible for organizing various weekly meetings and seminars as well as the meetings of the External Advisory Committee and the Community Advisory Board. It will also help support the annual CEHC meetings. Drs. Hansel and Diette form a management team combining expertise in community-based research, applied exposure assessment research, epidemiology, and clinical practice, and they have extensive collaborative relationships with basic science investigators. They are well qualified to lead the integration of scientific and core activities. The overall goals of the Administrative Core are to ensure completion of the proposed research, training and outreach activities, and facilitate interaction and information exchange within and outside the Center, including with the NIEHS and EPA.